Cook County demolition bonds.
$100 flat.
Cook County requires a demolition contractor to post a $20,000 surety bond before the Department of Building and Zoning will issue a permit to demolish a structure of three stories or less — a taller structure, four stories or more, steps up to a $40,000 bond instead. Ours is $100 flat.
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How much does a Cook County demolition bond cost?
$100 at the $20,000 amount, the same for every applicant.
Three steps. One sitting.
A demolition bond filing is about the simplest thing in surety. Here's the entire process:
Apply online
Business details and an effective date. That is the application. No credit check.
Pay & e-sign
Registration bonds like this are among the thousands of bond types that issue right after purchase.
File with Building and Zoning
Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email in original form, ready to file with the Cook County Department of Building and Zoning alongside your demolition permit application and the County Clerk's $2 recording fee. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What it is and who needs it.
What the bond actually guarantees
Cook County's Department of Building and Zoning conditions a demolition permit on a surety bond sized to the structure's height — $20,000 for a structure of three stories or less, stepping up to $40,000 for anything taller. The bond indemnifies the County against losses, costs, damages, or liabilities arising out of the demolition work, and the County requires an original signed bond plus a $2 recording fee payable to the County Clerk with every filing.
It's a three-party arrangement: you (the principal), the surety carrier, and Cook County (the obligee), with the County and nearby property owners as the protected parties. If demolition work causes damage the permit requirement is meant to guard against — an unsafe teardown, debris left on adjoining property, an unrestored site — a harmed party can recover against the bond up to the $20,000 penal sum.
It is not insurance for you — if the surety pays a claim, you repay the surety. Confirm the story count on your specific structure before you apply: a four-story-or-taller building needs the County's $40,000 demolition bond instead of this one.
You need this bond if you're
Claims, renewal, filing, and what sets the price.
If a claim is made
A claim comes from the party the bond protects, the obligee named on the form, when the duty the bond guarantees is not met.
The surety investigates and pays a valid claim, up to the $20,000 bond amount. You then repay the surety: a surety bond is a guarantee of your performance, not insurance for you.
Renewal and term
The bond runs to December 31 whatever day you buy; the premium covers the period to that date.
Renewal falls on the statutory date, December 31, in the year your term ends.
Renew before the expiry date to keep the bond in force: the license, permit or contract it backs expects continuous coverage.
How to file it
File with Building and Zoning. Your executed bond and power of attorney arrive by email in original form, ready to file with the Cook County Department of Building and Zoning alongside your demolition permit application and the County Clerk's $2 recording fee. Wet-ink original mailed on request.
What sets the price
The premium is fixed at $100 at the $20,000 amount for every applicant: the carrier’s rate book prices this bond by the form, not by your credit or your business profile.
No credit check.
One application, issued instantly.
These are the actual issuing fields. No credit check.
Start the application →Common questions.
Other Illinois bonds.
Been told you need a different amount?
Price and requirements checked on the carrier’s application, . Page updated .
Clear your Cook County demolition permit today.
$100 flat, no credit check, bond often issued in the same sitting. Free until issued.